


(Not So) Easy Love

by periwinklealice



Category: SF9 (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, I don't really know about idol life tbh, Idols, M/M, Misunderstandings, a bit of angst, everything is just my imagination, how do i tag this lmao, idol!verse, idols struggles, inseong best hyung, kind of, kinda plotless, other sf9 members as background characters, sort of new relationship?, taeyang and hwiyoung are figuring out together, youngbin best leader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:33:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27008146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/periwinklealice/pseuds/periwinklealice
Summary: Youngbin is struggling.And Inseong just want him to ask for help.Taeyang feels lonely.And Hwiyoung just want to help him.
Relationships: Kim Inseong/Kim Youngbin, Kim Youngkyun | Hwiyoung/Yoo Taeyang
Comments: 7
Kudos: 31





	1. You're Acting A Bit Awkward

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually a (sort of) commission for my best friend back in June-July. Also, yay, my first time writing SF9 fiction! I'm still learning on their characteristics or what they portrayed for idol life tbh. Please be aware of slight grammatical errors as well.  
> I had fun writing this, and (thankfully) my best friend had fun reading this, and I hope you too ^^

Youngbin let out a big sigh after he closed the director’s door behind him, feeling drained. His eyes glanced to the chairs in front of the room and found Inseong sitting there, airpods on both ears, staring at his phone.

If Inseong was aware of Youngbin presence, he was rather not caring so much because apparently, he was very concentrated on playing what-it-seems-to-be an epic online chess battle. Youngbin smiled a little, and slowly walked towards him.

The younger sat beside Inseong, looking over the phone and watched him played for a moment, before he leaned his head on the wall, eyes shut tight. His head was dizzy after the meeting before, and he didn’t know what to do with the evaluation document that was given to him by the company directors. They always demanded more, wanting more, wanted the members to– _what was it called again–_ “explore their capabilities” (but they still hadn’t accept any of Zuho’s songs to be featured on SF9’s album, and when Youngbin brought this up, they said it’s “not fitting with SF9’s color”) and to “do better on variety shows”.

As if they didn’t work hard all this time.

Youngbin didn’t know since when did the regular evaluation suddenly brought him headache everytime it happened. The sharp evaluation, even scolding sometimes, all of them made him feel like he was _not good enough_ as a leader. And as always, the members reassured him that _it was not his fault, they’ll do better_ , but Youngbin mostly ignored the first part.

Inseong was the one who kept reminding their leader about the first part.

Youngbin opened his eyes, startled when he felt someone snatched a portfolio that he’s been holding for the last minutes, and saw that the guy beside him had already ended his game, now reading the portfolio carefully. They were supposed to read the report together at the dorm, but Youngbin didn’t have any energy to protest, and let Inseong quick-scanned the document.

“Where’s Kijoo-hyung?” Youngbin asked for their manager, after seeing him not around.

“Downstairs,” Inseong answered, eyes fixed on Dawon’s evaluation page. “Creative team wants to talk about the upcoming contents.”

“And you’re not invited?”

“It’s still a raw concept, they said it’s fine if I didn’t come.”

Inseong didn’t explain more, but Youngbin felt very grateful for Inseong to kindly wait for him.

“Do you... want to get out of here?” Youngbin suggested, as he felt very uncomfortable knowing that the company directors are still in the room behind them. He really respected them, but he felt very bad and upset today. “Let’s go to the cafeteria while waiting for Kijoo-hyung.”

Inseong gave Youngbin the portfolio, and patted his back a little. “You look like you need a cup of coffee.”

“Not in the mood for caffeine.”

“Alright, bubble tea.”

They went down the elevator to the first floor where the cafeteria located–the company was a little quiet as it was way past the lunch time, and all the employees were back to work. Youngbin texted their manager, informing him that they waited in the cafeteria.

“How about the kids?” Youngbin asked Inseong again–referring to the remaining members. They’re supposed to have individual practice this afternoon before proceeding to dance class later on the evening.

“On their individual practice room, respectively,” said Inseong before he asked for an Americano and a bubble tea to the cafeteria employee who served them. “Oh, no, don’t, it’s on me-“ he stopped Youngbin from reaching his wallet, and gave the employee his own card.

“I’ll pay you someday.”

“Yeah, I’m waiting.”

Youngbin snorted. He and Inseong sat on the nearest armchairs while waiting for their orders. “Is your ankle progressing nicely?”

Inseong tapped his card on the table in the beat of Fanfare, nodded when Youngbin asked. “I think today they scheduled me to X-ray it again.”

Their leader nodded, feeling relieved. Last month when they were practicing in a dance class, an exceptionally tired Inseong bumped hard into Zuho (he looked like he’s gonna cry when they said Inseong’s left ankle was awfully sprained). Poor Zuho felt so bad, he promised to accompany Inseong for every hospital visits, not before Youngbin stepped in and said, _logically_ , that it’s gonna interrupt with his practice time.

Inseong laughed and said it was not Zuho’s fault, but his eyes caught Youngbin’s distressed eyes. Or more like... anger and worried.

“Yeah, it’s your own fault for not sleeping properly the day before,” said Youngbin sharply, before left Inseong alone in their shared room. Inseong frowned at the closed door, but a little part of him felt really bad for upsetting Youngbin. That’s why he’s been visiting hospital without absent–he hated to see the disappointed look on his leader’s eyes.

Part of it was also because Youngbin refused to accept his jokes before he “reflecting on his own mistake”.

Their waited orders came, and Inseong grabbed his Americano joyfully. He let out a sound after sipping his drink. “Great coffee,” he declared happily, then realized Youngbin was staring (almost unbelievably) at Inseong. “Want some?”

Youngbin shook his head almost vigorously, knowing Inseong has ordered an iced Americano with four shots of espresso earlier. “I don’t need that much caffeine today, thank you very much. I want to sleep properly today.”

“You sure?” Inseong smirked–no, _flirted_ , eyebrows raised and almost made Youngbin choked on his bubble tea.

The leader cleared his throat. “Don’t start on something you can’t finish,” he laughed, then chewing on tapioca pearls.

Inseong got wide-eyed, but kept silent. Youngbin smiled when Inseong complimented his Americano again (“Hmm, _delicious_.”), and sipped his bubble tea. He felt a little better–whether it’s because of the sugar or Inseong’s presence... it didn’t matter. Both were significant. 

* * *

Taeyang turned off the music on the dance practice room as he heard his phone ringing loudly. He knew who was calling even before seeing the screen–he set it differently from his ordinary ringtone.

“Yes, Hwiyoung,” he answered the call. “Right now? But I just finished practice.” He looked up to the wall clock, showing 7 pm. “Unless you want to hang out with a smelly, sweaty...”

Taeyang snorted when he heard Hwiyoung shouted in disgust. “Give me thirty minutes to clean up. I’ll meet you downstairs.” The dancer smiled, ending the phone call and grabbed all his stuff before leaving the room, heading to the shower room nearby. His mind pleased at the thought of hanging out with Hwiyoung before they went back to the dorm.

They were so busy preparing for the comeback, taking extra classes, revising their dance over and over, plus Taeyang had promised the fans to keep making dance videos, making him taking a video editing class. It had been like, what, almost five weeks ago? Taeyang almost slapped himself for forgetting the last time him and Hwiyoung hanging out together. Even though Hwiyong was never complaining, but Taeyang felt bad as he almost never had a chance to talk properly with the younger.

They usually went back home tired, exhausted, energy drained, and fell directly to sleep once they hit their bed, not even a small talk of what they did that day. Some nights Taeyang usually worked on his laptop, editing videos, and Hwiyoung already fell asleep when Taeyang finished late at night. Or Hwiyoung being late to go home after his class and Taeyang couldn’t bring himself to speak with Hwiyoung because of his grim face and let him rest instead.

So, it’s only natural if he was expecting this sudden free time with Hwiyoung, right?

After he finished showering and changing into a more proper outfit, he called Hwiyoung once again to make sure he wouldn’t be looking in the wrong café. The phone rang five times before Hwiyoung finally answered–and it sounded like he was in a noisy place. Taeyang lifted his eyebrows, confused. “Hwiyoung? Where are you?”

Hwiyoung mentioned a café near their company, and then Taeyang heard him laughing because of someone– _Chani? Jaeyoon?_

“Oh, sure. I’ll be there soon.”

He thought it was supposed to be only both of them... maybe he was wrong. Taeyang calmed his heart down before taking the elevator down and went to the promised place.

To his surprise–there were not only Hwiyoung, Chani _, and_ _Jaeyoon_ , but also a few FNC employees on the different table. He didn’t know this.

“Taeyang-hyung!” he heard Hwiyoung shouted from their table.

“The main character is finally here,” Jaeyoon clapped his hands. Chani was holding a small camera in a selfie stick, smiling–filming something.

Taeyang forced himself to smile and approached them. “What is this?” referring to the _situation_ , he put his bag down under the table and sat on the empty chair beside Jaeyoon–Chani and Hwiyoung sat across them. He tried to ignore his disappointment that suddenly crept in, and grabbing snacks that was served in the table, eyes focused on the camera Chani was holding. It was set on recording.

“We’re trying a new content,” Jaeyoon explained. “Kind of our daily vlog? Normal activities after practicing, something like that.”

 _Great_ , Taeyang whispered in his heart, dissatisfied by the fact that he still needed to _work_ even in his free time. But he nodded, gulping his chewed French fries.

“The others are busy–Youngbin-hyung accompanying Inseong-hyung to the hospital, Zuho-hyung is working on his new songs, Rowoon-hyung and Dawon-hyung stay late to catch up with the singing practice,” Taeyang didn’t ask, but Hwiyoung explained voluntarily.

“So Hwiyoung figured out you were available,” Chani added. “What did you do today, Taeyang-hyung?” he started his _broadcasting tone_ again after making sure the camera was still on the recording mode.

 _Well_ , Taeyang thought, _let’s just do this properly so it could end quickly._ “Practicing a new dance cover,” he smiled brightly at Chani and his camera, getting an _overly_ enthusiastic response from his members. Jaeyoon started to ask about his next cover–which was actually planned for a sweet surprise for his fans, so Taeyang only smirked, whispering “It’s a secret,” to the camera.

Somehow he started to avoid Hwiyoung’s eyes, because he was afraid if Hwiyoung could see through his eyes and aware that Taeyang was actually not in a good mood. But he stayed calm the whole recording–well, _self-recording_ , because apparently the staffs didn’t really bothering them for what they did or said. They just needed to do... as they usually did. They ate snacks, talking about foods, talking about practice, maybe giving spoilers here and there. _No problem_ –the staffs would decide if they spoiled too much and edited it.

Taeyang sighed in relieved, secretly, when they finally turned off the camera–guessed they had enough content to edit later on. Chani gave the camera back to the staffs and they’re heading back to the company’s parking lot before their manager drove their back to dorm safely.

“You okay?” Jaeyoon turned his head, asked Taeyang who sat alone at the very back, after a fifteen minutes driving and not a single word or sound coming from him. “You didn’t hurt yourself while practicing earlier, did you?”

“No, hyung, there’s nothing like that,” Taeyang answered, realized that Hwiyoung probably listened from the seat beside Jaeyoon, playing something on his phone. Taeyang really didn’t want to talk–he was tired, body ached everywhere, and snacks at the café earlier weren’t enough to satisfy his stomach.

The manager dropped by a chicken restaurant and left them on the van while he ordered a takeout. The four of them were finally alone, minding their own business (or in Chani’s business, playing games on the phone).

“Did you guys have a fight?” Jaeyoon asked abruptly, not referring to _who_ , but Chani whipped his neck from the shotgun seat and staring at both Taeyang and Hwiyoung. Hwiyoung stopped doing whatever he was doing with his phone and glanced at Taeyang.

Their eyes met for the first time since that evening.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: when I wrote the first draft I didn't know that Youngbin is fond of sweet things and gave him Americano instead of bubble tea. The bubble tea was actually Inseong's. Then I got into their character more and gave myself a palm face knowing Youngbin is a fan of pongcrush lol  
> Comments and review are very much appreciated! Chapter 2 coming very soon ^^


	2. From Some Point, There Was A Crack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some conflicts- and misunderstandings, ensued. But Youngbin only wants the best for his team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Previously I said that chapter two was coming soon... but then I kept postponing to post this chapter. Sorry, life happens ^^; But here you go, hope you have a good time reading ^^

“Hyung, I need to stop by a pharmacy,” Youngbin tapped their manager’s shoulder from his rear seat. Inseong looked up from his phone, glancing at Youngbin who glanced back and almost waited for Inseong to ask, but the latter didn’t speak anything.

“Why, does something hurt?” their manager asked instead, turning on his signal lights and changing lanes to his right.

“Headache,” Youngbin answered slowly before he leaned on his seat again. He cursed himself, thinking it was only because of the stressful meeting, but after rounds of practice, it kept getting heavy. Now how would he delivered the evaluation results to the members in the dorm, how would he conveyed the news to Zuho, how would he asked Dawon to ‘do better on variety’, how would he told Hwiyoung to ‘have better flow at rap-writing’...

“You can always ask for help, you know.”

Youngbin jerked his head, totally not expecting Inseong to say that while their manager was around–only, their manager _wasn’t_ around. They had parked in front of a pharmacy and it seemed Kijoo had entered the pharmacy alone.

Inseong didn’t look up from his phone, scrolling Twitter feeds that were still full with fans tweeting him many _get well soon_ wishes. Youngbin cleared his throat.

“It’s my responsibility.”

“ _Us_ ,” protested Inseong. “Ours. You’re leading a _team_ , Youngbin. You’re not leading _yourself_.”

“But I don’t want people to...” Youngbin carefully chose his words, “...belittle our hard work.”

“Do you think people at the company thought so? No, Youngbin, they just want us to be _better_ , to _explore_ more, to-“

“To work a little harder. See, Inseong? It all comes to this again. Whatever we do, they would never satisfied.”

Inseong put down his phone and turned his body to the backseat. “That is,” Inseong stated, “ _just how it is_. The competition is harsh, of course they want us to be _prepared_.”

“How many preparations before Dawon gets sick after long hours of variety filming? How many preparations before Jaeyoon loses his voice after straining for a high note? How many preparations before Taeyang hurts himself over hours of extra dance practice?” Youngbin snapped–his scolding tone resurfaced. “I couldn’t forgive myself if any of you guys get injured again, Inseong. Not after you.”

“ _It’s not_ -“ Inseong stopped himself because the driver’s door was opened and Kijoo came in, holding a plastic bag that he gave to Youngbin.

“Thanks, hyung,” and Youngbin didn’t say anything again for the whole trip back to dorm–not even to Inseong.

* * *

The dorm was quiet when Jaeyoon, Taeyang, Hwiyoung, and Chani came back. Taeyang left three of them at the front door and dashed into the bathroom after throwing his bag on the living room couch. Not long after, they heard a door slammed shut. Chani wetted his lips and gulped to moisten his dry throat.

“What is he so angry for...” Hwiyoung let out a quiet whisper–it affected him too, and he got a little upset. He went to his and Taeyang’s shared room, and, as he didn’t want to lose, he shut the door with force. Jaeyoon patted Chani’s head before he entered the house and put two boxes of chicken on the dining table.

Chani sighed, and then his eyes saw familiar shoes–Inseong’s. Chani wondered why did the house sound so quiet when Inseong was already home. And- oh, Youngbin’s was there, too.

Tried not to think of any possibilities of what his two hyungs might do alone in their room, Chani decided to walk fast past Inseong and Youngbin’s room. To his surprise, the door was opened a little and Chani could hear conversations in a high tone. His plan to walk fast past the room disappeared.

“What’s with everyone today,” Chani groaned to no one but himself, hated to be in this awkward situation.

“...not taking _everything_ by yourself!” Chani heard Inseong’s voice.

“Everyone is busy, Inseong. I can’t possibly _bother_ everyone with my thoughts of-“

“It’s not a bother, Youngbin. If only you could _put your trust_ on us...”

Not long after, the door was opened roughly and both Inseong and Chani, who was walking past the corridor startled each other.

“Oh- hello, Chani- you’ve come home- nice-“

“Bathroom is... occupied,” Chani felt the need to inform this to Inseong, before his hyung nodded awkwardly and strode along the corridor to sit on the couch instead. The youngest then heard something fell–or maybe thrown–inside Youngbin and Inseong’s shared room, and he walked towards his own room without looking back again.

Inseong found Taeyang’s bag looking ragged and lonely on the couch without its owner. But he didn’t think–he just felt a surge of anger, not wanting to see Youngbin’s face or hearing him blaming himself for _everything_ including Inseong’s injury. Said he should’ve stopped Inseong from working hard on the studio, practicing, and completely forgot to sleep and eat.

 _Where’s the logic on that_ , Inseong thought as he angrily threw himself to the couch, but carefully lifted up his left foot, positioning it safely while he lay down. He then heard the bathroom door opened and Taeyang showed up in the living room. His hair was wet, his face was flushing red and dreary, and Inseong could guess it’s not purely because of the hot water.

“Welcome home,” greeted Inseong. Taeyang nodded and grabbed his bag hastily before returning to his and Hwiyoung’s shared room.

 _Seems like everyone is having a rough day._ Inseong put his arm across his eyes, feeling a little more exhausted than any of his previous argumentation with Youngbin, plus his ankle was throbbing like crazy. He figured this might have nothing to do with the fight–the doctor said earlier to not giving his left foot unnecessary stress.

Which meant, he already had the _necessary stress_.

Inseong sighed almost too loudly. He didn’t want to return to their room that quickly– _no_ , he had done enough of Youngbin’s _habit_ to blame himself for each unfortunate things that happened to their group, even if it was just a mere constructive criticism from their company directors. Youngbin was contemplating too much on _trivial things_ that actually they could solve together if only their leader was able to elaborate on what his concerns are.

 _Hell, even Chani would’ve helped._ Inseong winced, massaging the area between his eyebrows with his thumb.

Of course. Every comeback seemed like a pressure, everything was so demanding. They were afraid of not be able to meet the expectations. But there were no other people that could really empathize with the stress they went through... except the _nine_ of them.

And Inseong just wanted Youngbin to embrace that.

Although he knew so well (and regretted his anger) that his act wouldn’t solve anything, Youngbin was probably still angry at _everything_ , so Inseong believed it was a good choice to be outside the room.

Or maybe he could sleep on the couch tonight–no big deal.

_Not a big deal, really..._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for everyone who left kudos! I really really appreciate all the comments on the previous chapter, and would like to hear your thoughts about this one too! ^^


	3. Did You Change or Not?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inseong was not on his right mind. But at least he learned something. And Hwiyoung? 
> 
> He helped.

Hwiyoung sat on the floor inside their room, restraining himself from banging his head to the wall as he leaned on it. Taeyang’s actions irritated him so much–not talking, leaving him on the front door, slamming the bathroom door? And didn’t even give him a single explanation?

 _Unfair_ , Hwiyoung sighed, then automatically glanced up as he heard the door yanked open. Taeyang appeared in the doorway, still declining eye contact, then walked towards their hanging wardrobe. He sat down and crossed his legs, not facing Hwiyoung, now opening his bag and started organizing the inside.

Not even a word. Which made Hwiyoung even more furious.

“Did I do something?” Hwiyoung tried to initiate a conversation. “Or did I _not_ do something?”

Taeyang didn’t answer. But Hwiyoung could hear him sighed.

“Why didn’t you say anything on the van earlier?” Hwiyoung demanded.

Only the sound of shirt rustling could be heard.

“ _Hyung_.”

Like someone had pressed the _on_ button, Taeyang reacted to that word. “Not now, _Youngkyun_ ,” he said, voice hoarse like someone who hasn’t been talking for a long time. He then stood up and approaching their dresser.

“What?” Hwiyoung’s eyes following the elder’s movement, still waiting for... anything. He just wanted Taeyang to at least _look_ at him or took a glance, _anything,_ instead of doing this confusing silent treatment.

Taeyang cleared his throat. “Just... later.” He said firmly.

In disbelief, Hwiyoung stared at Taeyang’s back who looked... _busy_. Or trying to.

“Hyung, I thought we talked about this,” the younger stood up, but instead of walking towards Taeyang, he came closer to the doorway. “I still don’t know what I did wrong, so I can’t apologize to you, but I’ll never figure out if you keep ignoring me.”

While Taeyang didn’t seem longing to answer, Hwiyoung gritted his teeth and went outside. _Fine_ , he clenched a fist and breathed heavily while walking through the corridor. _If Taeyang wanted him to get out, fine-_

Hwiyoung paused when he saw someone was lying on the couch. He didn’t expect anyone to be on the living room... moreover, it’s _Inseong_.

“Inseong-hyung?” Hwiyoung called his name carefully. “What are you doing here?”

Inseong looked up over his arm and saw Hwiyoung came into his sight.

 _Huh_ , Hwiyoung was perplexed to see Inseong’s eyes looked red and... _watery?_ _Did this hyung cry?_

 _This particular hyung_ was always a person who avoid crying in front of the members (Youngbin was exceptional). Usually he was the one who try to cheer up and lifted up the mood, along with Dawon. He was never the person who would cry in a public area–the dorm’s living room, for example.

Even though Hwiyoung was annoyed over Taeyang who kept ignoring him in their room, he really _couldn’t_ overlook the abnormal sight in front of him. Inseong sat up, scrubbing his eyes now, almost too hard that Hwiyoung afraid he would accidentally poke his eyeballs out.

“Hyung. _Hyung_ ,” Hwiyoung hurriedly sat down, grabbed Inseong’s wrist and hovered it down. “You’re gonna hurt your eyes.”

“It’s _itchy_ ,” Inseong emphasized the last word, but he stopped eventually and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Did something happen?” Hwiyoung asked, out of curiosity.

Instead of answering, Inseong stiffly gestured with his chin to the coffee table in front of them, where the portfolio Youngbin put there earlier was visibly shown. Said put was actually _tossed_ away, before he dashed to their room.

Based on the evidence, Hwiyoung could comprehend what was going on with his hyungs. It’s always like this after a director’s meeting. But, “No, I mean did something happen with Youngbin-hyung that makes you cry outside your room,” Hwiyoung corrected his question.

Inseong’s eyes opened wide and he stared at Hwiyoung. “Why... what makes you think of that?”

Hwiyoung shrugged. “You cried here, that’s what gives it away.”

“No, I mean what makes you think that I cried.”

“...I happened to have eyes...?”

Hearing that, Inseong burst into laughter, making the younger surprised. “You’re really...” he rubbed Hwiyoung’s hair. “And what are you doing here?”

“...I happened to live here...?” Hwiyoung answered, continuing his antics because his hyung seemed to cheer up a bit.

“Fine, I give up,” Inseong raised his two hands. He grabbed one of the cushions and hugged it, let out a heavy breath before leaning on the couch.

Hwiyoung sat closely beside him to wait if he was ready to talk, speak, cry again, or whatever to let out his unsettled feeling. He couldn’t back to the room anyway–who would be able to withstand an _obscure_ aura from his roommate (who happened to be his boyfriend _too_ )? And not even saying _anything_ , not even _looking_ , making him felt _guilty_ , for what reason-

He broke off his angry thoughts when he felt Inseong dropped his head to his shoulder, fingers twirling the tassel on the cushion mindlessly.

“Inseong-hyung?” Hwiyoung called after a few seconds.

“Maybe it will be easier... if you were my boyfriend.”

* * *

“What?”

“ _What_?”

It took two seconds for Inseong to fathom. He straightened up, looked at Hwiyoung’s surprised eyes, clearly taken aback by what Inseong has just blurted out.

 _Shit_ \- Inseong cleared his throat. “Forget it,” he said, laughing awkwardly. “It’s just...”

“Mindless thought?” Hwiyoung suggested, not laughing.

Inseong shook his head. “No, just... I have too many thoughts,” he gestured with his hand to express a heavy mind.

“Well, I don’t, so you can share.”

“Speak for yourself,” Inseong scoffed. “I think I saw Taeyang tensed so much earlier. What _did_ you do?”

Now Hwiyoung looked _tense_. “What makes you think it was _my_ mistake?”

“Because you’re here.”

Inseong was only guessing, but he saw Hwiyoung dropped his eyes and playing with his fingernails instead.

The younger quieted for a few seconds before he sighed. “He won’t say. Ignoring me the whole trip back to dorm. Ignoring me when we’re home. Huh. I’ll let him be. What did he get from being silent? Nothing. Then I’ll give him nothing too,” Hwiyoung huffed before started again. “And then when I asked, he told me ‘later’. ‘Not now’, he said. I mean... what’s the difference? It’s just a matter of time!”

Hwiyoung stopped to catch his breath. “I clearly said _one_ week ago, Hyung. A fucking one week ago. It’s not too long ago! To just... _talk,_ about whatever makes him mad, whatever makes him sad, or what mistake did I commit, everything.”

 _Typical Taeyang_ , Inseong thought, _keeping everything bottled up_. It reminded him of a _particular_ someone.

Inseong raised up his lip corners. “You did well, Hwiyoung. Just let him be. He... probably didn’t know what to do–feeling upset, but also didn’t want to scold you, _but_ you just happened to be on his sight. Maybe he needs time to organize his feeling, to calm down. _Alone_.” He stressed the last word. “Give him time to think... and learn.”

“You understand him more than I am,” said Hwiyoung, looking regretful, while Inseong patted his back of the hand. “I _wish-_ ” Hwiyoung paused. No–Hwiyoung _stopped_. He didn’t continue whatever sentence he was going to say.

 _You wish- what?_ Inseong was curious. But he decided not to say anything and they were quiet, busy with their own minds, getting comfortable with the silence.

Until Hwiyoung broke that.

“ _Hyung_.”

“ _Please_ don’t use that tone.” –the tone Inseong only ever heard coming from Hwiyoung to call Taeyang.

Hwiyoung clearly didn’t show any intention to obey Inseong’s plea. “Did you mean it?”

“Mean what,” Inseong was afraid of making eye contact, and his eyes fixed on this one tassel with entangled thread on the cushion.

“’ _Maybe it’s easier if I was your boyfriend_ ’?”

Trying to fully concentrate on loosening the entangled tassel, Inseong twisted and turned the thread.

“What _happened_ with Youngbin-hyung?”

Inseong knew Hwiyoung didn’t refer to the now-neglected portfolio in front of them.

Hwiyoung was not at fault–until earlier, Inseong was depleted trying to soften a stern heart belonged to Kim Youngbin. While he knew Hwiyoung was having a hard time with Taeyang, but still managed to lift up his mood–he let that slipped from his mouth because... yeah, it just _seemed_ easier to have Hwiyoung as a boyfriend.

Damn. Inseong really felt bad now.

“Look, Hwiyoung, I’m so sorry- I spoke without thinking. I’m tired-“

“ _Yeah, you need to rest_.”

Both Inseong and Hwiyoung whipped their heads as fast as they could when the voice of their leader echoed in the living room. Youngbin appeared from the corridor, walked towards the coffee table, crouched down while arranging the portfolio.

“Sorry, Hwiyoung, you know how he rambles when he’s tired,” Youngbin mumbled, gathering the papers up, tapping the documents on the table. “Also, I think it has something to do with the analgesics...”

Trying to calm down his sudden rising heartbeat, Inseong cleared his throat. “Huh. What are you saying. I haven’t take my meds yet.”

“Well, take _it_ , then,” Youngbin stood up, holding the portfolio, but he went to the kitchen across the living room. “Who bought chicken?” he said, glancing at the dinner table while opening their fridge.

“Us,” Hwiyoung told him, observing his leader who showed his back to them, looking for something on the fridge, and then Hwiyoung looked back to Inseong.

Who was looking at Youngbin with a slight smile on his face.

That’s when Hwiyoung knew his worry earlier meant nothing.

“Great, let’s eat it when everyone’s home,” Inseong clapped his hands together. Youngbin finally found something he was looking for–their last remaining canned soda. The refreshing sound of the can being opened could be heard clearly.

The awkward silence made Hwiyoung uncomfortable and he stood up with his ears flushed red, said that he needed to use the bathroom. Inseong didn’t know what to do and looked at his tassel–successfully untangled. Youngbin took a breath after drinking a few gulps of soda, before walking back to his and Inseong’s room.

Inseong didn’t move from his couch, absentmindedly played with his tassel again.

Youngbin paused on his way. “Inseong,” Youngbin called, looking at Inseong, who looked at him back.

The leader didn’t proceed, chugging from his soda can instead. Inseong blinked twice, still staring at his boyfriend, waiting for him to finish drinking.

“I need your help with this,” he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand that was holding the soda can, waving the portfolio in his other hand.

A bright smile instantly emerged on Inseong’s face, before he jumped from the couch and trailing his boyfriend off to their room.

 _No_ , Inseong thought, as he launched himself and put his arms around Youngbin’s shoulder (getting a surprised, but a pleasant look from him),

_loving Youngbin was so much easier._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the upcoming chapter will be the last for this story!  
> Really appreciate the comments and kudos ^^


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